Customer Experience

By adaptive - November 20th, 2013

Price B. Floyd, Vice President of Communications Internal Communications and Global Digital Strategy, BAE Systems.

Price B. Floyd is Vice President of External Communications for BAE Systems focusing on the outward facing communication strategies that promote BAE Systems, Inc. as a brand and a business and that support business winning campaigns.

What are the key drivers behind your organization’s use of social media?

The drivers have changed over time. At first we simply felt a need to be on social media to reach our customers and media with announcements, contract wins, etc. Over time we have matured and now use social media to engage with our employee population that is often not at a company computer and whose only connection to the company other than their paycheck could be our Facebook page.

How is social media organised within your company?

Social media is coordinated by the Company’s Comms function, but we both allow and encourage our employees to use social media – and have provided guidelines on the do’s and don’ts of using social media.  As for a model, we look to our major customers – the U.S. Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defence as models on the use of social media. They were there before we were.

As a corporate user of social networks, how does your company value the networks it has a presence on?

The value of our social media platforms has grown and matured over time. We are looked upon as a key enabler to the business that helps them win and keep business.

Can you outline a recent initiative that included a social media component?

We have used social media to keep our employees in the US informed during the recent US government shutdown with key information on furloughs, pay, benefits, and just general information on how we see the evolving situation. This is now a normal part of how we do our jobs and is no longer seen as a one-off or add-on to our efforts.

How much pressure is there to show ROI with the social media you use?

This is a tough question and for me this is where the rubber meets the road. While the pressure is not great form outside the Comms function, I have put pressure on all of our teams to provide key indicators of success. I won’t accept the “old style” Comms metrics – faxes sent, emails blasted, which have now morphed into tweets posted, Facebook updates, etc. I need to know if our content has been viewed by those we need to reach, and if it had an impact. This has been and is by biggest challenge.

How did your organisation approach the mapping of your enterprise to identify where social media should reside in the corporate structure?

There was never any plan to have social media reside anywhere other than the Comms function. While social media can and does do things for many people, nothing it does is more important that communicating. That being said, our social media team reports to the External Comms lead, but also to the Internal Team.

Are there any specific tools you employ that help your business manage its social media activity across multiple departments?

Lots, but the most important tool is the people on our team.  They are engaged, enthusiastic and committed.